This program just got better, again. They have reinstated their GrantsPro Advertising Grant which gives non-profits $40K a month (almost $500,000 a year!) in free advertising on Google. If you don't know about this, run don't walk to sign up. And yes, we can help!

If you are looking for a way to build an audience for your content curation, there is no better program than this. Point $40,000 a month of Google Advertising at your blog or curation and get from 20,000 to 100,000 visitors a month. Yes, a month. Can you turn these visitors into donors, advocates, volunteers, evangelists, sponsors, email subscribers.. you bet. You can do this yourself or we can help. If you have questions contact us at www.2080nonprofits.org

Even faith-based charities now qualify for free advertising on Google. Use it to get your story out, build your email list, solicit donations, attract sponsors, increase Facebook and YouTube viewers, sign up volunteers, sell products and services, gain evangelists, and of course, fundraising of any kind. It takes a little work, but is worth it. Note: You can do this yourself, or ask for help. 20/80 Non-Profits is a Google Partner and helps non-profits with this program, and all aspects of modern marketing. If you have questions, go to www.2080nonprofits.org

Great explanation of why a Content Curation strategy is one of the best ways to build brand preference. We call this a "Give to Get" strategy. It builds relationships and trust. -Ken www.2080nonprofits.org

"If you can be a guide, a clearinghouse, a trusted place from where to learn, appreciate and understand more, there is no amount of outbound links that is going to counter the magnetic force you will express to those who are interested in what you are pointing to."

This is why the fear every company has about content curation - talking about *others* in the same field - has not only no reason to exist, but it is also downright counterproductive as soon as others start using it.

Content curation is a venue to make sense of existing information to facilitate access, discovery, comparison, understanding, both on the side of who curates as well as on the one of those who benefit from it.

Part of my inspiration in becoming so passionate and interested in content curation, has been ignited by a post that appeared in 2004, on Robert Scoble's popular tech blog.

In it, I read: "It's the new marketing... Instead of being desperate and saying "look at me look at me" you tell your readers to get lost.

Go someplace else.

What's the philosophy?

Those sites will take you to the coolest stuff on the Internet. And by doing that, Engadget and Gizmodo have BECOME the coolest places on the Internet. Just like Craig's List, Google, eBay."

Takeaway: The more valuable resources, info and tools you share with your audience/community the more trustworthy and reputable you will appear in their hearts and eyes.

"Send your visitors away" is a simple but valuable content marketing advice and it is at the heart of what a good content curator does. Finding and sharing great resources that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

"If you can be a guide, a clearinghouse, a trusted place from where to learn, appreciate and understand more, there is no amount of outbound links that is going to counter the magnetic force you will express to those who are interested in what you are pointing to."

This is why the fear every company has about content curation - talking about *others* in the same field - has not only no reason to exist, but it is also downright counterproductive as soon as others start using it.

Content curation is a venue to make sense of existing information to facilitate access, discovery, comparison, understanding, both on the side of who curates as well as on the one of those who benefit from it.

Part of my inspiration in becoming so passionate and interested in content curation, has been ignited by a post that appeared in 2004, on Robert Scoble's popular tech blog.

In it, I read: "It's the new marketing... Instead of being desperate and saying "look at me look at me" you tell your readers to get lost.

Go someplace else.

What's the philosophy?

Those sites will take you to the coolest stuff on the Internet. And by doing that, Engadget and Gizmodo have BECOME the coolest places on the Internet. Just like Craig's List, Google, eBay."

Takeaway: The more valuable resources, info and tools you share with your audience/community the more trustworthy and reputable you will appear in their hearts and eyes.

"Send your visitors away" is a simple but valuable content marketing advice and it is at the heart of what a good content curator does. Finding and sharing great resources that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. "

The PR world is definitely changing and if you are an entrepreneur, business leader, or PR professional, this SlideShare discusses how adding visuals into your press releases and other PR activities will boost your response rate, visibility, etc.

I'm fascinated by the stats here and look forward to incorporating some of the tips shared.

In the end, it should get us all thinking about how to leverage visuals more effectively in our marketing and PR efforts.

It's s a myth to think you can and should be manipulating search engines with back links, page keyword stuffing, duplicate content development, etc. It's old school and much of these processes are no longer relevant to Google.

Content marketing is essential to building great SEO. Consumer facing brands need to keep their social networks and blog updated on a regular basis. Some common problems include producing engaging content, enough content, the budget for a content strategy, the lack of executive support, and creating a variety of content. There are tools that can help (like Scoop.it)!

It's been a while now that SEO experts such as Lee Odden or Rand Fishkin have commented on the algorithm changes of Google that completely changed SEO from an obscure technical back linking technique to a much more human ability to produce content humans enjoy and like to share.

This post gives a number of actionable tips on how to implement a successful SEO strategy in 2014.

But beyond the list of tips, SEO today boils down mostly to publishing content that your targeted audience will enjoy: because it educates, it entertains them, it informs them, etc...

And therefore the key to success is being consistent which - as the above chart shows - is the main challenge today: producing a constant stream of high quality content is not just tough, it's impossible. Even major media groups have given up on this as they got beaten by the Huffington Post (which this post is interestingly from), BuzzFeed and Upworthy. Mixing your own content with curated content however does not only makes this possible but also makes your entire site and publishing efforts more credible.

Some people still think that the only type of content that can demonstrate your expertise and show your thought leadership is the one you create.

If you're still thinking that, think again as the data has spoken.

David Dodd used to be one of them and he explains in this article why he changed his mind after analyzing results from several research studies focusing specifically on B2B marketing.

The research - based on an extensive of more than 400 B2B content consumers - highlights beyond any doubt that people simply don't trust vendor-created content.

The solution is probably not to stop creating anything: you have opinions and you can create strong original content. But more often then not, you'll be more convincing if you can publish curated content that supports your overall message.

(Which is what I just did by the way so let me know if you feel more convinced).

It's no surprise really that people trust external content from bloggers and journalists to what you write in your marketing spiels. That's why curation works so well. You can bring in voices who share the same messaging and add credibility to your voice.

Sauna.io is a social curation platform allowing you to easily pick the best content, images and video from your social media connections coming from Facebook and Twitter.

Sauna.io provides Pinterest-like private dashboards in which it surfaces for you the most relevant stories that may interest you, coming from a set of 12 different content themes from which you can elect your favorite ones.

Robin Good: To create an effective landing page you need to pay attention to a lot of critical factors. From the layout and positioning of the graphic and text elements on it, to the language and communication style to use.

Frequent mistakes include wanting to include too much stuff, providing too many links going off into different directions and not paying enough attention to small details which can make or break your credibility and reputation on the web.

Excerpted from the original article:

"If you are searching for conversion-focused landing page best practices, then look no further than our latest infographic.

Robin Good: I have just received an invitation to test the new content curation platform Zeen, and here I am with some early impressions on what I have seen.

Zeen is a content curation tool designed to create good-looking magazines on a specific topic or theme. Setup and configuration is very easy and straightforward and it allows you to connect your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Once you are in, you can immediately set up a Zeen magazine, by selecting a title, a description and a cover image. From there on you are free to use the integrated search feature to find web articles, news, images, video clips or tweets relevant to your magazine. You just start a search after having selected what kind of content you are looking for and Zeen presents you with a set of relevant results. One-click on any of them and they are inserted instantly in your magazine.

You can also create as many "tags" (Zeen calls them "labels") as you like and assign each content item to a specific label.

The final magazine issue offers an automatic visual table of contents, in which you can organize by dragging and dropping the order of your selected contents.

A Zeen magazine can be made of multiple issues, instead of being like Scoop.it, a continuously growing content holder. You select the content items and you produce an issue (which can be still edited after publication).

N.B.: There is no way to edit or modify the content picked and added to your magazine, including the use of images.

You can't create new content but only pick and organize existing resources.

Recently, NTEN, Common Knowledge, and Blackbaud presented their fourth annual report on social media trends among nonprofits for 2012 at the Nonprofit Technology Conference. From 3,522 respondents, they asked what the top three contributing factors were of those who were successful on social networks.

They all responded that their formula for success was to get a plan, buy-in, and team members to implement and lead the initiative. Their top three success factors were:

We've said it before: we love Pixar. Their stories are original, funny, and appeal to all audiences. They're masters. That's why Jess and I got excited when we saw Pixar's 22 rules to storytelling.

Non-Profits: If there is only one thing you can do to improve your organization, it is getting your story told in a compelling way. Without a compelling story, all the Pinning, Facebooking, Tweeting etc. you do is wasted. And, who better to learn from than the Pixar. Love this! -Ken

Jekaterina, thanks so much for scooping! We hope it inspired you. We're going to be making a few more as we gear up to launch our Hansel and Gretel app, so please keep in touch with us at pbjpublishing.com!

The key to success in a myriad of web content that may drown us in 2015 is to curate content. The whys and hows are explained in-depth inside this article.

Ken Dickens's insight:

You must become THE Internet Expert on your Niche in order to gain an engaged following, build trust, and ultimately donations (or sales). Yet you don't have the staff to create all the content you need to do so. That's where Content Curation comes in, and you are reading an example. I didn't create this article but I think it fits and will help my readers. Create some content on your own, but become an expert web filter and Curate the rest. - Ken

We're taking a look back at the most valuable and indispensable content marketing resources of 2014.The study found that just 35% of marketers have a documented content strategy, and those without a strategy are eight times less likely to say they're effective at content marketing. You do have a strategy, don't you?

Ken Dickens's insight:

First, you need a content marketing strategy and plan for next year. Period. This is where the web is working today. Second, this article will help you make one, and make sure it gets implemented. Content Curation should be at the top of the list! -Ken

If you have embraced content marketing and content curation, your job now is to get above the noise level with your content in order to get that social traction you crave. To do exactly that, we went to the ends of the Internet to find you the best and brightest content tools to get your mission accomplished.

Ken Dickens's insight:

Here are six tools I didn't know about, and am more than happy to discover. I especially like List.ly a search engine for lists that always get lots of traction. Enjoy. - Ken

In a recent survey of 1,550 US professionals on the impact of content curation for their business goals, 65% said content curation helped with regards to SEO. Not only that but data from 65M+ pieces of content curated on the Scoop.it platform show that an average of 40% of traffic comes from Google Search.

This presentation explains why and outlines content curation best practices for SEO.

If you understand the power of #content #curation you will do more of it. The statistics show how Curating Content can play a big part in Search Engine Optimization. The right level of participation brings more exposure.com

In a recent survey of 1,550 US professionals on the impact of content curation for their business goals, 65% said content curation helped with regards to SEO. Not only that but data from 65M+ pieces of content curated on the Scoop.it platform show that an average of 40% of traffic comes from Google Search.

This presentation explains why and outlines content curation best practices for SEO.

Mitch Free writes on Forbes about the unique business value that curation can bring to those markets where there is already an abundance of choices.

"The web has revolutionized access to information. If you travel to a new city, you don’t have to wait to ask a hotel concierge or local contact which restaurants are worth your time: that information is at your fingertips long before you arrive.

The web’s universality and ubiquity are also its weaknesses, however: even if all are listed online, choosing from the 25,000 restaurants in New York City still requires a local’s advice.

While “curation” might bring to mind the image of a red-jacketed museum staffer scowling at you for taking flash photographs, in the digital age it’s becoming an increasingly critical – and lucrative – business model.

No longer is access to information precious in itself. Information is overwhelmingly available, and those in a position to tame the tidal wave into a useful format offer a valuable service."

The articles uses as a reference example the case of a new restaurant listing site that curates the best 100 restaurants in 100 cities by charging qualifying restaurants.

Non-Profits are a commodity. There are over 1.5 million of them in the US alone, all with great causes, all with their hands out to ask for money. Enter Donor Fatigue. Want to stand out? Become "the" source of information on your cause. In other words, give to get. You will stand out. You will gain trust. And, you will raise money.

"One of the best use cases of Scoop.it in the nonprofit space is by Ashoka, an organization supporting changemakers all over the world. Their content director, Maggie Lemere, uses Scoop.it because Ashoka wanted her to lead the effort in using visual storytelling to create impact through content. The organization used to have a marketing team but shifted their strategy."

Ken Dickens's insight:

Great post for resource impaired non-profits. If you're reading this, you are using Scoop.it. We use Scoop.it for exactly the reasons discussed, leverage of time without compromising quality in your content. This is content curation taken to the next level. Give to get! - Ken

Google knows all. They are the man behind the curtain, the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. They just released their data on what we searched for this year: Whitney Houston, Kate Middleton, Hurricane Sandy, and BBB12 and One Direction (What the hell are these?). Take a look, fascinating.

Robin Good: If you are looking for one of the most effective ways to create a YouTube video playlist, while retaining full control of what to include and what to leave out, here is the tool you need: YTPlaylist. Ken- This is cool, and really useful!

You input a search query.

YTPlaylist provides a list of relevant results.

You check the ones you want to include.

You review, shuffle, delete, move over your picks until you are happy.You click save and the job is done.You take the embed code or link URL and off you go.

From the site: "This resource guide presents selected English-language websites and documents that are useful in understanding and conducting digital curation. It is also available as an EPUB file (see How to Read EPUB Files)."

Robin Good: Though I had seen and scooped this article before, I must have not done a very good job of really reading it from back to back. Paul Kedroski, who wrote this over a year and half ago, really captured the historical essence of content curation on the web.

This is an absolutely must-read article for anyone wanting to grasp what is happening with content curation on the web, hwile seeing things in proper perspective.

He wrote: "What has happened is that Google's ranking algorithm, like any trading algorithm, has lost its alpha.

It no longer has lists to draw and, on its own, it no longer generates the same outperformance -- in part because it is, for practical purposes, reverse-engineered, well-understood and operating in an adaptive content landscape.

Search results ...so polluted by spam that you often started looking at results only on the second or third page...

...

There are two things that can happen now.

a) We could get better algorithms, which is happening to some degree, with search engines like Blekko and others.

b) Or, we could head back to curation, which is what I see happening, and watch new algos emerge on top of that next-gen curation again.

Think of Twitter as a new stab at curation, but there are plenty of other examples.

Yes, that sounds mad. If we couldn't index 100,000 websites in 1996 by hand, how do we propose to do 234-million by hand today?

The answer, of course, is that we won't -- do them all by hand, that is. Instead, the re-rise of curation is partly about crowd curation -- not one people, but lots of people, whether consciously (lists, etc.) or unconsciously (tweets, etc) -- and partly about hand curation (JetSetter, etc.).

We are going to increasingly see nichey services that sell curation as a primary feature, with the primary advantage of being mostly unsullied by content farms, SEO spam, and nonsensical Q&A sites intended to create low-rent versions of Borges' Library of Babylon.

The result will be a subset of curated sites that will re-seed a new generation of algorithmic search sites, and the cycle will continue, over and over.

I only use google like a phone book -when I'm looking for a specific reference. But if I'm doing research on a topic, my strategy for years has been to go to the key sources (curators) and look through their libraries. I find the lack of context that search returns - makes me want to throw up. It is a much better experience to see it in context through the yes of someone who knows the content area.

If you are just thinking about content curation, this blog post might scare you, but stick with it. It has lots of helpful links and information. Grab a cup of coffee and work your way through it, well worth the time. -Ken

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.